Filed under: Truck , Plants/Manufacturing , Toyota The Toyota Tacoma may be getting on in age, but that isn’t stopping the Japanese manufacturer from ramping up production at the pickup’s Baja California factory. The Mexican plant will soon be home to another 300 jobs as it increases total capacity by 41 percent. The increase is slated for April 2015. The move is a curious one, considering the Tacoma’s age and the fact that General Motors is preparing what, on the surface, appear to be two very competent challengers. The factory increase could be in preparation for the 2016 Taco ( spy photos shown above), which is expected to represent a significant overhaul of the long-serving truck. Toyota’s decision to increase capacity could also be due to the factory building freeze implemented by President Akio Toyoda , according to Automotive News . Toyoda put a hold on new factories until 2016, asking executives to squeeze as much production as possible out of remaining factories before bringing any additional facilities online. What do you think Toyota is up to? Is this just preparation for next-gen Tacoma production? Might a different vehicle altogether take up the additional capacity?

Filed under: China , Japan , Plants/Manufacturing , Toyota , Earnings/Financials With the April 15 tax deadline just a few months away, our US readers will be faced with a decision should they get a refund: save or spend? It seems this issue is one many of us face whenever there’s a windfall, trying to decide whether we should set the money aside in an account of some sort or use it as a down payment on a new car or a trip to the Apple store. Unsurprisingly, major corporations face a similar, albeit more complex, issue. Take Toyota , for example. With President Akio Toyoda at the helm, the Japanese manufacturer has gracefully weathered recalls and natural disasters, all while turning beaucoup profits. Last quarter, profits quintupled to 434.4-billion yen ($4.3-billion USD), according to Bloomberg . Toyota also upped its forecast for the end of fiscal year 2013 (which ends on March 31 for Japan), to a record 1.9-trillion yen (about $18.8 billion). Now, the Japanese brand is reportedly sitting on a cash pile of nearly $40 billion, leaving Toyoda-san in an envious predicament – what should the company do with all that money? Some think Toyota should be doing something, anything with that big stack of cash. Some think Toyota (and Toyoda) should be doing something, anything with that big stack of cash.

Filed under: Sedan , Japan , Toyota , Design/Style , Luxury Akio Toyoda is doing a pretty decent job at the helm of the Toyota empire. This is the man, after all, that declared that Toyota would get new sports cars , and that they needed to be , not should be, rear-wheel drive. We can respect that. Toyoda is also trying to do away with his company’s conservative styling and bring edgier vehicles to market. Toyota’s designers have done just that, although perhaps they went a bit too far. In November, Toyota debuted its fourteenth-generation Crown with a bling-bling fascia that makes Lexus’ spindle grille look as conservative as a three-piece suit, and a retina-searing pink paintjob. See, in Japan, the Crown is to Japan’s older crowd what the 2002 Buick Park Avenue is to America’s senior citizens. As Automotive News reports, the idea with the pink was to draw attention to the grille, but it was originally intended as a debut item, only. Now, Toyota is actually planning to offer the electric fuchsia Crown for sale to regular buyers. Interested parties will have from September 1st to September 30th to place an order for the big sedan.

Filed under: BMW , Toyota , Earnings/Financials An annual market study of the strongest brands across various industries has seen Toyota leapfrog BMW as the world’s most valuable automotive brand. Toyota’s 2013 brand value rose to $24.5 billion, up 12 percent versus 2012 numbers according to market research company Millward Brown’s BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list. BMW’s value fell slightly; down by 2 percent to a total of $24 billion. Mercedes-Benz finished in third place in the automotive category, up 11 percent from 2012 for a valuation of $18 billion. Honda ($12.4 billion, down 2 percent) and Nissan ($10.2 billion, up 3 percent) rounded out the top five for the category. Volkswagen was the only other auto brand that finished in the top 100 overall, in 100th place. Audi made the greatest percentage gain over 2012, up 18 percent to $5.5 billion, but finished outside of the top 100. Technology companies dominated the overall list, with Apple , Google and IBM ranking one through three. Couture brand Prada was 2013’s biggest gainer, rising by 63 percent over 2012. Toyota passes BMW as most valuable car brand originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 May 2013 15:33:00 EST.

Filed under: Motorsports , Videos , Toyota , Racing When Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda wanted to give his company’s 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Camry a shakedown run, Kyle Busch was chosen to ride shotgun. Even though Busch has won 85 races driving Toyotas in three NASCAR series, it was Toyoda who took the driver’s seat for a spin around Daytona International Speedway. The redesigned Camry stocker is expected to be submitted for approval this summer, and you can watch Akio Toyoda put it through its paces in the video below . Continue reading Watch Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda drive the new NASCAR Camry Watch Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda drive the new NASCAR Camry originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 May 2012 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Sedan , Hyundai , Toyota When does a mid-size sedan become a top-notch competitor to the Toyota Camry ? The answer is apparently whenever said competitor begins stealing market share from America’s top-selling sedan. Bloomberg reports that Toyota North America Chairman Yoshimi Inaba called the Hyundai Sonata “a very honorable contender in the market” during an interview earlier this week. Inaba adds that Toyota has great respect for the strong-selling Hyundai, and we’re guessing they’re not the only automaker keeping an ever closer eye on Camp Hyundai. Sales of the Sonata soared by 35 percent in 2010 to 196,623 units. Meanwhile, 2010 Camry sales dropped by 31 percent to 327,804 units. To make matters worse for Toyota and the Camry, supply disruptions stemming from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami have further hurt Camry sales while the Sonata continues to attract new buyers. In fact, the Sonata outsold the Camry in May, in part because of Toyota’s production issues. But while the Sonata has been gaining on the Camry, that trend could reverse itself with an all-new Camry set to arrive later this year. Toyota President Akio Toyoda already told U.S.